Victor (Clark Gable) is a big-game hunter who operates in the heart of wild Africa, where men are men and women are few.

But this time around the game he's seeking is on two legs, and there are two prime targets. The first is Linda Nordley (Grace Kelly), the beautiful wife of a very prissy visiting anthropologist. Second is Eloise 'Honey Bear' Kelly, played by the sultry Ava Gardner.

This is a Technicolor remake of an early (1932) Clark Gable vehicle, Red Dust, and director John Ford finds it hard to whip up real viewing interest or tension in this pretty flaccid affair. Will Victor end up with Linda or Eloise? The biggest question is do we really care?

Although shot on location, the film seems strictly studio-bound in its ersatz-Hemingway macho atmosphere and overall corny acting. Time has long passed by this corner of wild Africa. So should we.

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This is a full screen transfer of what could well be an original Academy ratio movie.

I can't find record of its original ratio, but the movie was released in 1953, the very first year of general Cinemascope release. Back then, the majority of movies were still being shot in Academy ratio, so this is most probably the original screening format.

However, the picture quality is poor. It shows quite a degree of edge-enhancement, but the most typical feature is a degree of general fuzziness which suggests that this transfer came from a relatively high-quality video source, not from film-stock.

Although there are no obvious signs of print damage, the image, while it would be regarded as high quality for a video release, falls short of today's standard DVD quality. Sound, although mono, is clear and without any distortion.